Chairman clears Oswego County legislator of misconduct

Oswego County Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann, R-Amboy, has decided that there will be no investigation into the actions of Legislator Shawn Doyle, R-Pulaski.

Chris Gosek

Oswego County Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann, R-Amboy, has decided that there will be no investigation into the actions of Legislator Shawn Doyle, R-Pulaski. His decision is based upon his own findings over the past 10 days.

At the last legislature meeting, March 13, Minority Leader, Michael Kunzwiler, D-Oswego, requested an Article 14 investigation into Doyle’s actions on Feb. 9.

On the night in question, Doyle met with a group of friends and was introduced to Justin Winkle, a fishing guide who had narrated a Darrel Aubertine for Senate advertisement. The group consumed alcohol. Early the following morning, Winkle was arrested and charged with a DWI. He later apologized publicly for his role in the commercial in conversations with several media outlets.

Kunzwiler questioned the details of a conversation that took place that night regarding Aubertine’s opponent, Will Barclay, and the services he has provided to the Pulaski area.

Although Kunzwiler questioned Doyle’s intentions during that visit and was adamant that an investigation be conducted, Leemann decided that after receiving statements from those present on the night in question that the matter would not be pursued any further.

“A Rule 14 committee is limited in both scope and remedy. While your complaint is quite general, you have alleged nothing in particular pertaining to Legislator Doyle’s official duties that I have found to be true, nothing that would merit convening a committee to investigate any further,” Leemann wrote in a letter addressed to Kunzwiler.

Leemann based this explanation on four sworn statements made by those present on the night in question, in which all parties indicated that they did not find Doyle’s actions to be coercive or improper. The statements were copied and included with the letter as was a copy of a police report from an incident occurring the following morning, which was also questioned in Kunzwiler’s request.

Leemann went on to address each question raised in Kunzwiler’s request in the three-page letter, pointing to statements made in the “voluntarily submitted sworn statements that show many of the allegations in (Kunzwiler’s) complaint are invalid.”

The letter contended that “neither individual has stated that they have a problem with Legislator Doyle or his actions.” Leeman explained that Doyle did not represent himself improperly as a public official and that the statements given showed no complaints of Doyle being in violation of county ethics law or state election law.

Kunzwiler, however, was not satisfied with Leemann’s investigation, questioning why and how the signed statements even came about.

“I find it very hard to believe that these two men just happened to be strolling by the county building and thought ... ‘Hey, let’s go offer up a sworn statement for no reason.’ They were obviously contacted by someone, I just wonder who ... it’s questions like these that a committee would have eliminated.”

Leemann, however, explained, “Those who were involved had seen an article in the newspaper about the Article 14 request at our last meeting and volunteered to come in and make statements to clear up any confusion surrounding the incident. The people involved just wanted to explain what happened and help get this whole mess over with.”

“Personally, I am very disappointed that there was no committee convened to investigate this matter,” Kunzwiler continued. “To give the appearance of a true, fair evaluation, this should have been brought before an official bipartisan committee, rather than be judged by a single person who has very close ties to Legislator Doyle. The way things were conducted, nobody knows for sure what questions were asked, who was present when they were asked, who contacted those submitting the statements or what was said when they were contacted ... now these are all questions that we will almost certainly never hear answers to.”

“In the rules, it says the chairman should investigate the matter and report back within a 10-day period to the legislature, deeming whether or not a committee is necessary,” Leemann stated. “I am representing this body as their chairman, not as a Republican or a Democrat ... they got a fair decision.”

After providing the information he gathered during his 10-day investigation, Leemann hopes that this will be the last that is heard of this incident.

He concluded his letter to Kunzwiler with the following statements, “I hope this puts this issue to rest so we can move forward with the work that will benefit our county residents. I am looking forward to working together with you. The majority caucus and minority caucus can make a positive difference if we can begin to work in a bipartisan manner.”

Further voicing his disappointment with the situation, Kunzwiler said, “I find this really unfortunate, but I guess we will never actually find out what truly happened here ... In my position, there is nothing more that I can do. The chairman has made his decision on this issue, and we, as legislators, must abide by his ruling.”

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